Rap on Trial | Hidden Brain Olutosin Oduwole was a college student and aspiring rap star when he was charged with "attempting to make a terrorist threat." Did public perceptions of rap music play a role?

What was going on was that the police suspected that Olutosin, a college student and aspiring rapper, was on the brink of committing a Virginia Tech-style mass shooting on his campus. He was soon charged with attempting to make a terrorist threat, and was eventually convicted and sent to prison.

That conviction was later overturned by an appeals court, but to prosecutors, the case remains a clear example of a tragedy averted. To Tosin and his supporters, however, his prosecution was a fool's errand — an example of bias in how people perceive rappers and rap music.

This week on Hidden Brain, we'll meet Tosin and explore his case from all sides. We'll also consider what criminologist Charis Kubrin sees as a troubling rise in prosecutions that use rap lyrics to bolster claims that a defendant is violent.

This episode was produced by Rhaina Cohen, Jennifer Schmidt, and Laura Kwerel, and edited by Tara Boyle. Our team also includes Parth Shah and Thomas Lu. Original music for this episode was composed by Ramtin Arablouei. You can also follow us on Twitter @hiddenbrain, and listen for Hidden Brain stories each week on your local public radio station.